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. welcome to "newsline." i'm keiko kitigiwa. japanese and chinese forces are saying two different things happened in the sea. japan is saying china used radar, but china is issuing a statement denying it ever happened. there were two separate incidents. on january 19, it admits crews trapped the japanese helicopter because it had approached their vessel. in the second case, on january

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30, the china ship said it monitored a destroyer that was following at close range. but the statement denied that they used fire radar in each instance. they said they released false reports without confirming it with their counterparts in beijing. the prime minister also denies it. >> reporter: the japanese claims are complete fabrication. >> chinese authorities admit their navy crews used radar to monitor the radar, just not weapon-controlled radar. they had a full examination of data collected last month by defense force personnel. they say the analysis shows chinese crew members directed what appeared to be artillery-guiding radar at the

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sbf destroyer. but they stress no artillery was pointed at the vessel. the officials say the destroyer's electronic wave detecting system detected high frequency systems with high-controlling radar. the vessel was 3 kilometres apart at the time and nearly 100 kilometres north. japan controls the territory, taiwan and china claim it. japan's chinese minister is grappling with a question that could reshape the defense and its relations with allies. he has ascend aid group of experts to find out whether he has a constitutional right to give ministry under attack. >> translator: i reconvened the panel to discuss what japan should do, including the most effective use of our security

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arrangements with the united states. >> abe told panel members japan faces a drastically changing security environment. the prime minister said he did not think the constitution allowed them to give ministry under attack. they want panel members to reexamine the question and figure out what situation would justify his sending that kind of help. panel members gave abe the recommendations they came up with five years ago. they said japanese leaders should change their interpretation of the constitution and help defend allies in certain circumstances. they said one justifiable action would be intercepting a missile heading for the united states. air pollution in china has become so bad, it's a health hazard. government officials in japan are worried about japanese nationals who live in chinese cities, so they're sending a doctor to tell them how to

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protect themselves. the pollution has been hovering over eastern and inland areas since the beginning of last month. officials say they've seen a sharp rise in levels of airborne particles known as pm 2.5. some of those particles come from vehicle exhaust gases. the prime minister says his staff is collecting information to help protect japanese residents. a medical officer from the japanese embassy will offer advice this month in the cities of tan jain and ginhai. radiation from fukushima force the many people to leave their homes and it's still too high for them to return. somei

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someie evacuvacis are so fed up. their demanding officials bring radiation down to the level it was at before the accident, and they're demanding $550 a month for each in compensation. >> translator: i'm from sorksma city. people from my community are scattered here and there. the main thing we want is to get back to normal. >> theie evacuees say the class action is the first of its kind. >> translator: this case has huge significance because we're trying to show the blame lies not only with tepco but also with the government. >> they say they will file their suit on the second anniversary

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of the nuclear accident. they agreed to make their first budget cut in spending. they reached a deal after two days of bargaining. the leaders agreed to cap the eu budget at 960 billion euros, about $1.3 trillion. the new budget is smaller than the current one for the first time in the eu's history. >> it has been a lengthy but successful 24 hours. the european council has just agreed on the next multi-annual budget. and not just any budget, it is a balance and gross oriented budget for europe for the rest of the decade. >> british leaders demanded a sharp budget cut in austerity measures across europe. french and italian leaders fought against cutting subsidies for farmers.

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the budget still needs approval from members of the european parliament. here's the 3-day weather forecast.

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some birds are able to swim underwater to catch their prey. several species of fish can fly through the air thanks to oversized fins. they documented the ability of squid to jump outside their

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comfort zone until finders in japan managed to capture these rare images. the graduate school of fishery sciences took these photos in the pacific ocean some 600 kilometres east of tokyo. squid were known to jump out of the ocean by expanding water out of their bodies. researchers think they use the same method to accelerate in mid-air. they stretch out their fins and tentacles to maintain balance. >> translator: squid jump out of the water when they run out of options to evade a predator. they escape by running metres away. >> researchers say squid can travel an estimated 30 metres in a single flight. that's all for this hour on "newsline." i'm keiko kitigawa at nhk world.